History

Medieval European geographers
located paradise at the mouth of the Ganges and although this was overhopeful,
Bengal was probably the wealthiest part of the subcontinent up until the 16th
century. The area's early history featured a succession of Indian empires,
internal squabbling, and a tussle between Hinduism and Buddhism for dominance.
All of this was just a prelude to the unstoppable tide of Islam which washed
over northern India at the end of the 12th century. Mohammed Bakhtiar, from
Turkistan, captured Bengal in 1199 with only 20 men thanks to an unexplained
'bold and clever strategy'. Under the Moghul viceroys, art and literature
flourished, overland trade expanded and Bengal was opened to world maritime
trade - the latter marking the death knell of Moghul power as Europeans began to
establish themselves in the region. The Portuguese arrived as early as the 15th
century but were ousted in 1633 by local opposition. The East India Company
negotiated terms to establish a fortified trading post in Calcutta in 1690. The
decline of Moghul power led to greater provincial autonomy, heralding the rise
of the independent dynasty of the nawabs of Bengal. Humble East India Company
clerk Robert Clive ended up effectively ruling Bengal when one of the impetuous
nawabs attacked the thriving British enclave in Calcutta and stuffed those
unlucky enough not to escape in an underground cellar. Clive retook Calcutta a
year later and the British Government replaced the East India Company following
the Indian Mutiny in 1857. The Brits established an organisational and social
structure unparalleled in Bengal, and Calcutta became one of the most important
centres for commerce, education and culture in the subcontinent. However, many
Bangladeshi historians blame the Brits' dictatorial agricultural policies and
promotion of the semi-feudal zamindar system for draining the region of its
wealth and damaging its social fabric. The British presence was a relief to the
minority Hindus but a catastrophe for the Muslims. The Hindus cooperated with
the Brits, entering British educational institutions and studying the English
language, but the Muslims refused to cooperate, and rioted whenever crops failed
or another local product was rendered unprofitable by government policy. At the
close of WWII it was clear that European colonialism had run its course and
Indian independence was inevitable. Independence was attained in 1947 but the
struggle was bitter and divisive, especially in Bengal where the fight for
self-government was complicated by internal religious conflict. The British,
realising any agreement between the Muslims and Hindus was impossible, decided
to partition the subcontinent. That Bengal and Punjab, the two overwhelmingly
Muslim regions, lay on opposite sides of India was only one stumbling block. The
situation was complicated in Bengal where the major cash crop, jute, was
produced in the Muslim-dominated east, but processed and shipped from the
Hindu-dominated city of Calcutta in the west. Despite grumblings many and
various, partition duly occurred and East Bengal became the runt state of East
Pakistan. It was administered unfavourably from West Pakistan, with which it
shared few similarities apart from the Muslim faith. Inequalities between the
two regions soon stirred up a sense of Bengali nationalism that had not been
reckoned with during the push for Muslim independence. When the Pakistan
government declared that 'Urdu and only Urdu' would be the national language,
the Bangla-speaking Bengalis decided it was time to assert their cultural
identity. The drive to reinstate the Bangla language metamorphosed into a push
for self-government and when the Awami League, a nationalistic party, won a
majority in the 1971 national elections, the president of Pakistan, faced with
this unacceptable result, postponed opening the National Assembly. Riots and
strikes broke out in East Pakistan, the independent state of Bangladesh was
unilaterally announced, and Pakistan sent troops to quell the rebellion. The
ensuing war was one of the shortest and bloodiest of modern times, with the
Pakistan army occupying all major towns, using napalm against villages, and
slaughtering and raping villagers. Bangladeshis refer to Pakistan's brutal
tactics as attempted genocide. Border clashes between Pakistan and India
increased as Indian-trained Bangladeshi guerrillas crossed the border. When the
Pakistani air force made a pre-emptive attack on Indian forces, open warfare
ensued. Indian troops crossed the border and the Pakistani army found itself
being attacked from the east by the Indian army, the north and east by
guerrillas and from all quarters by the civilian population. In 11 days it was
all over and Bangladesh, the world's 139th country, officially came into
existence. Sheikh Mujib, the founder of the Awami League, became the country's
first prime minister in January 1972; in 1975 he was assassinated with his whole
family except a daughter (present prime minister, who was studying abroad at
that time ). a priod of crisis emerged after that.

our president Mr. Shahabuddin Ahammed.

In
1991, the military dictator General Ershad was forced to resign by an
unprecedented popular movement led by the Awami League and the Bangladesh
Nationalist Party . in an free fair election BNP (bangladesh nationalistic party
won the election and created a quoalition government. but because of the
disarguments between the political parties, bad political situation arrived very
soon. striks and hortals became very normal issues. opposition parties blamed
the bangladesh nationalist party (the then government) of fraught,
missmanagement of funds, power, bad social condition and not fulfilling the
elecction promisses. By 1994, however, many Bangladeshis had become disenchanted
with the Zia government. Despite election promises, the 1974 Special Powers Act,
allowing detention without charge for 120 days, had never been repealed.There
were claims that the government had rigged by-elections, and military and police
repression of dissenters appeared to be on the rise. Opposition parties called
for mass general strikes and the country's bureaucrats walked out. A general
election was held in February 1996, but a boycott by opposition parties, 5%
voter turnout, and claims of ballot box stuffing and repression of
anti-government protesters raised serious questions about the legitimacy of the
re-elected Zia government. Opposition parties and activist groups campaigned
against the election thousands of young students (mainly the opposition
supporters) was wrongfully captured , tourchered and
detained by the government . the government used the army, police for
this purpose. the main purpose was to create a fear among the opposion parties.
the inocent families of the students suffered alot during that time. On 30 March
Zia stood down and a caretaker government under Muhammad Habibur Rahman was
appointed. Elections, generally seen as free and fair, were held in June and a
coalition government headed by Sheikh Hasina Wazed of the Awami League was voted
in. In mid-1988 the country was hit by devastating floods - 50 of the country's
64 districts were flooded, 755 peo ple died and nearly a million were made
homeless. after such a struggle bangladesh is at present is running by Awami
league . still whoever goes to the opposition party always calls on strikes,
hartals, and many political meetings. it now became a normal picture of our
country. that's the main reason why our country is staying behind in the fast
developing world.